


waiting room

by Lua



Series: a lesson learned in time [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Canon Divergent, Implied Relationships, M/M, Time Loop, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-30
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-07-04 18:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15847314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lua/pseuds/Lua
Summary: Trent can no longer tell what happened before and what is happening now for the first time.





	waiting room

No, they couldn’t do it. Trent was sure of it, there was no way they could do it. There was no way anyone could do it. The tunnel was magical. There was a barrier of some kind. It was fear. No, there was no such thing, he had tested it, he knew they could go through it and watch the cowboys come and go through a magical portal that had to mean Trent was losing his mind but he had been stuck in this train station for so long and he was willing to try anything except they couldn’t do it. He knew it. He wasn’t sure how he knew it, but he was sure of it. These guys couldn’t do it.

He glanced at the older guy and the clear memory of him, standing by the entrance of the tunnel of the train, waiting, waiting waiting waiting waiting he was going to be hit by the train when the train came, except there was no train, but Trent remembered watching a movie about people who committed suicide by jumping in front of a train and it was gory so he thought of that. There were old people and children in here; this was going to be terrible. He wanted to shout for this guy to not do it, what the hell! Except he knew it was more likely he was going to be trampled by horses than hit by a train, standing there like an idiot while no one paid attention to him. Trent shouldn’t pay attention to him. Trent should worry about the fact he couldn’t find his ticket or his phone, the train was late.

Wait. Horses?

Anyway, they couldn’t do it. He knew it.

“You tried the doors,” he told them because that changed everything. Maybe they could do it.

The younger one, Stiles – Trent knew it but he wasn’t sure how he knew it because he just met these guy trying to escape through the doors like idiots and he knew they were different except he didn’t know why he knew it, he just had a feeling he did – gave him a tired smile like he had this conversation with every person he met in this train station. Which he didn’t because Trent was watching and because Trent knew no one ever tried the doors, no one since…

No one since Trent. No one tried the doors, right?

“No one ever tries the doors.”

There was that and there were chains back when Trent arrived. He wasn’t very good a picking locks and he hadn’t been strong enough to break them. He glanced at the chains – the broken chains – and then at the older guy – Peter, he knew it, but he didn’t, no, not really, maybe he just looked like a Peter, and it had been so long since Trent talked to anyone who wasn’t waiting for the train that he just felt like naming them, it was fine, it was fine – and he knew Peter broke them. Peter rolled his eyes, but it had nothing to do with the broken chains. Maybe it did; maybe he could read Trent’s mind. Maybe they both could. Maybe this all happened before.

The train!

Trent watched them, thinking really hard about the wheels on the train going round and round, round and round round and round until he was satisfied neither of them could read his thoughts. Maybe the train station was making him crazy. Stiles seemed impatient; did he hear their names while watching them because seriously what was even a stiles; who named their kids that? Was it a foreign name? Was it a weird trend? How long had Trent been waiting for the train and where did he put his ticket? He had no money, the booth was closed; he was going to miss his train.

Oh.

Right. There wasn’t a train. He had to escape, he needed his plan and he needed them.

Except they couldn’t do it.

“I can tell you but it doesn’t mean you can do it,” Trent told Stiles and he knew that it would be a disaster. He knew he was stuck and it didn’t matter; these guys couldn’t save him but it was his only shot because he couldn’t do it on his own. No, he tried and he almost…

He tried it before, right? Didn’t he?

 “Oh, we,” Stiles started and he sounded so sad that it distracted Trent from his thoughts. “We can do it. He can,” he put his hand on Peter’s arm and squeezed. Peter looked confused but he didn’t say anything because of Trent, great, now Trent – the one with the plan – was the extra one, which was brilliant, just great, maybe he should just wait for his train until he lost his mind completely like the old lady who was going to see her grandson Jake who just made the baseball team!

“He can…” both of them said at the same time.

Trent wasn’t sure if they were trying to convince themselves or if they were trying to sell the lie to him or to each other but they clearly couldn’t do it because they didn’t even try to do it. They needed Trent to go with them and that didn’t sit well with Trent but his options were running thin and what else could he do? What if his plan worked and he wasn’t there to escape? What if he didn’t escape? What if these guys killed him and ran away? But why would they do this? He couldn’t even find his phone to check what time his train was leaving! And now there was this.

“Well, it’s right in front of your face.”

“I saw it,” Stiles said and Trent wanted to ask when because he had been watching Stiles and he had been watching the tunnel, he knew it had to be a lie and, yet, he felt tempted to believe him. No, he did believe him, he knew Stiles saw it, he saw it earlier, Trent was watching. No, he was waiting for the train. No, he saw it and he didn’t see it and it was a lie, Trent knew it. No, he walked straight to it, Trent knew it. He saw it.

Peter rolled his eyes. Trent snorted; he didn’t even know what the plan was. Just because they could save each other, it didn’t mean they could escape. When did they save each other? What did he see? He stared at Peter, waiting for answers and the answers didn’t come and Stiles cleared his throat.

Trent looked back at Stiles.

“Then why’d you waste so much time running through those doors? I’ll tell you why,” Trent paused. He had the impression they were waiting for him to finish. It felt like they had heard it all before and this was a replay of something they did a million times. “It’s all part of the illusion. You’re afraid and they want you to be afraid.”

It was late. It had been late for some time now. No. Something was wrong. He had been waiting for too long and he was afraid. It wasn’t normal to be afraid of his train, was it? Was it an accident? Did…did someone die? He had a headache. He should look for his ticket, he couldn’t get on the train if he lost his ticket and the booth was closed. The train was late. No. Something was wrong. There was an accident on the tracks, Trent was sure of it. Did Trent always take the train? Maybe he was so nervous because this was the first time. He didn’t go out of Beacon Hills so often and anyone would be nervous taking the train on their own for the first time. In particular, when there were so many people to take the same train. Were all of them taking the same train? Maybe that’s why the booth was closed; they ran out of tickets. Where was his ticket. Something was wrong. There was someone standing by the tunnel; it sent a chill down Trent’s spine. Trent wanted to tell the man but he was just standing there and he knew the horses would come out of the tunnel any time now but he knew they would go together into the tunnel. Wait, who? No, the plan, he should show them the plan.

“Trent,” Stiles called and Trent felt grounded to the moment again.

Trent wondered if he was imagining these people like he imagined a wolf roaring in the station a few hours or days after he arrived. No one reacted then and no one was reacting to these people know. Maybe he was crazy. Maybe he was dead and this was hell. Didn’t he write an essay about hell being a train station or a room back in school once? Maybe he just lost his ticket; he was really nervous about his train being late after all.

Something was wrong. Stiles looked at Peter and there was concern on his eyes. Peter reached out and held Stiles’ hand. Trent started walking to the tunnel; he had no time for a couple’s goodbyes.

“Can’t do it, can you?” Trent mocked when they both stopped by the tunnel. He needed to be sure. It was the them or the train and both probably meant death. It was fear, he could feel it, too. They were afraid, or they knew the train was coming. Maybe he should just get the fuck out of the tracks. No, they knew what they were doing. Trent watched it work before. No, they were too chicken to go along with the plan. It was the tunnel, it freaked people out. Trent was used to it, he knew there was no train. “He can’t do it.”

Stiles put his hands on Peter’s back and pushed him into the tunnel. Somehow, Trent knew Peter would’ve agreed to that. He did agree to that, he asked for it. But he didn’t. He couldn’t do it. Neither of them could do it. Stiles waited and waited and Peter went back to grab him and pull him into the tunnel. Somehow, Trent knew Peter would’ve gone back for Stiles. He always did. Always, although they just met. Why did he feel he saw all this before? The train station was messing with his mind. They just met but they met before and he knew them. Maybe he knew them. Maybe they saved him. No, they were stuck here, too. There was no escape; they didn’t do this before.

Trent watched them and tried to think. They did it before. They did it before. There was no train, what did they do before? They escaped before. They did it before. Who? Stiles and Peter were talking in quiet voices. Trent wanted them to shut up.

“You might want to stay off the tracks,” Trent interrupted them. They were here before.

It was better to show them the plan than to explain it to them. They wouldn’t believe it unless they saw it. No one believed it. No one believed there was a way out. Everyone believed in the train. Trent couldn’t shake off the fear that he was going to lose his train, but he knew better. Did he ever catch the train? How did he leave before? Did he leave before? They never left; they couldn’t. They couldn’t have left if they were back again. He knew them. Trent have been here before. He felt like he had been in that train station forever. Something was wrong. He couldn’t find his ticket. He couldn’t remember where he was going and he wasn’t sure what he was doing just now. He couldn’t find his phone. Something was wrong. Earlier, there was a wolf in the station and no one reacted. 

“I need you to focus,” Stiles said. “You have to tell us.”

“We jump,” he clarified. He’s been here so many times he knew the timing better than the time of the train. He knew the station so well now. He knew when the riders would come and he knew how long they took each time. He’s been here before; he’s been here forever. They’ve been here before, too. Why they keep coming here? The plan should have worked. Trent knew the timing.

“Jump?”

Trent never figured out if they asked because they are shocked or because they are trying to find out who will jump. Maybe both wanted to go. Maybe neither wanted to go. Maybe one wanted to go and come back for the other. Maybe one wanted to be sure it was safe. Trent didn’t know them at all but they were starting to be familiar. He saw them close and saw them push each other away. Trent has no idea who these people were and, yet, he could take a guess that Peter would come back for Stiles and that Stiles would break Peter’s fall. He thought he saw it before but, then, he wondered when. Was it the tunnel? Damn, the tunnel. They needed to pay attention; the riders would be back any time now. Trent was scared. He remembered a man was standing by the side doors, holding on the handle as if pulling it open was too much for him. Trent wanted to cheer him on but it was too much for him, something was very wrong. They needed to go.

“On the back of the riders as they go through.”

They couldn’t do it. The look in their faces said they couldn’t do it.

“Is that all?”

“I've been timing it. Look, we can jump from here just before they go out,” Trent explained. It was simple, but they couldn’t do it.

“I think you're confusing your pronouns,” Peter began and Stiles found his hand, earning a confused look that didn’t stop Peter in his rant. “We aren't going to do anything. But you should absolutely give that a shot.”

“Do you not wanna get out of here?”

They were afraid. No, they knew it wouldn’t work. No, they knew it would work but they didn’t want to do it. No, they had done it before. Why were they here? Something was wrong, it felt like they knew more than Trent did but they didn’t time the horses and they didn’t find the portal and they couldn’t do it on their own. They needed the plan. Stiles squeezed Peter’s hand and Peter loosely entwined their fingers.

Stiles had a sad look in his face. Peter sounded like he was arguing with a dead man. The plan didn’t work then. They had all been here before. No, Trent had never seen them before. They were trying the exits, they were new. No, they had been here dozens of times. Trent was confused. He saw them. Always together, always always always Peter and Stiles. He had never seen them before, they were new.

“Look! I can't stay here; I'm losing my mind in this place.”

“I think you have an excellent grasp of the situation,” Peter pushed, and didn’t he? He had been timing them. He knew when to jump. They just couldn’t do it. Maybe they found their train tickets. Trent wouldn’t jump if he found his train ticket. No, he would still want to escape, the train wasn’t real. Focus. They just couldn’t do it. “I say go for it.”

“Peter,” Stiles warned, still holding Peter’s hand. Cowards. Peter pulled Stiles back against his chest and pushed his head on the curve of his neck to keep him from looking. Trent snorted. He knew they couldn’t do it. They were coming. He had to go now.

Wait.

Did he do this before?

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading this!
> 
>  
> 
> i was working with the idea of time looping and how it could affect a character that seems to somewhat aware of the loops but doesn't know what is going on. it took a long time for me to find the courage to post it, but i'm still working with the idea of the first fic so i made it into a series.   
> the name of the series comes from the song good riddance by green day


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